Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Joyful, We Adore Thee

Matthew 11.2-15

God has a funny way of working in my life so that I am prepared each Sunday to stand in the pulpit and bring you a true-to-life message of how God’s grace meets the ground we are standing on.

God’s funny way of working is this: If the message’s theme is hope, like the first week of Advent, God allows most things in my life to lead me to the edge of insanity where I am tempted to give up all hope in good finally prevailing.  If the message’s theme is peace, like last Sunday, God allows me to have a restless week where I question every decision I ever made.

That being said, this week’s message, for the third week of Advent is always centered on the theme of joy.

Now, experiencing joy is something I struggle with on a regular week.  However, this week, God did his thing in my life and allowed me to experience the burden of a to-do list that exponentially generated more and more items that needed my attention alongside seemingly impossible relationships and seemingly impossible situations to navigate.

Midweek, as I was driving out to Garvie’s Point Museum to join my younger son on a field trip, I was experiencing great discomfort with a never-ending thought cycle that was attempting to figure out all of the current problems I had on my plate.

To help lessen some of that nervous anxiety, I decided to put on my mentor’s podcast just to hear the soothing and gentle and gracious tone of his voice.  

The podcast is always bookended with short musical content that pertains to the podcast’s topic of discussion.  

As soon as I hit play, I heard the 1963 bop from Lesley Core that contains these lyrics,

“Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows

Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel.”

I immediately and literally laughed out loud.  

“Everything that’s wonderful is what I feel.”  What a striking contrast to my then current feelings!

Life is filled with doubts and disappointments.

Life is filled with unmet hopes and expectations.

And, all of this can easily steal our joy.

If you remember from last week, God sent John the Baptist to the people of Israel to proclaim that when God shows up on the scene in the person of Jesus Christ, God is giving out the gift of peace.  To make sure we have what we need to meet God face-to-face, John the Baptist laid out the specifics of being prepared for that encounter. 

He tells those that have ears to hear that peace with God comes from confessing one’s sin and repenting of one’s sin.  He also mentioned that peace with God comes from being washed clean of sin through baptism and receiving the guarantee of forgiveness and salvation through God living with you daily in the third person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit.

All of this work is accomplished for you, the work of forgiveness and salvation that makes you right with God,  is finished for you through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

This week, as we celebrate the Third Week of Advent, the Sunday that thematically centers on joy, we meet back up with John the Baptist.

Let’s just say that John’s current situation tempts him to lose all hope and lack both peace and joy.

Matthew 11.2-15 tells us this:

[2] Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples [3] and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” [4] And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: [5] the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. [6] And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

[7] As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? [8] What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. [9] What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. [10] This is he of whom it is written,

“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

[11] Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [12] From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. [13] For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, [14] and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. [15] He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (ESV)

When we meet back up with John the Baptist, we find him in prison.

Why is John in prison?

Well, besides people causing an uproar after being offended by his message of sin and salvation (when they should have rejoiced!), John found himself in trouble with one of the political leaders. John, in his God ordained task, confronted King Herod in  his commandment breaking action.  King Herod, one of the Roman leaders, was having an adulterous relationship with his sister in-law.  When John informed King Herod of his disobedience to God’s by saying, “It is unlawful for you to have her,” King Herod imprisoned John. 

As John becomes intimately acquainted with shame, hunger, physical torment, and emotional struggle, it would have been really easy for John the Baptist to loose his joy.

After a life of following God and doing things that aligned with God’s will, John found himself locked up behind bars.

Seeing this progression of events, we can find ourselves asking, “Why did God allow him to end up in jail (where he would eventually be beheaded)?”

In a similar fashion, people often ask me to answer their big question of, “Why?” — “Why is God allowing me to experience this current suffering?”

The answer is, I don’t know exactly.  I don’t have an exact answer as to why God allowed John to be imprisoned following a life of service to God.  I also don’t have an exact answer as to why God allows you to experience the pain and suffering that you experience.

And, I never will never have that full answer this side of Heaven.

But, what I do know is that Jesus tells us that we will experience suffering this side of Heaven due to the persistence of Sin in this world.  We find ourselves in some very dark places due to the problems our own sin creates as well as the problems that the sin of others creates.

Oswald Chambers, an early twentieth-century Scottish Baptist preacher, wrote, “Happiness depends on what happens; joy does not.”

So, how can I be joyful if life is a dumpster fire right now?

That was basically John’s question that he had his disciples ask Jesus.

And, Jesus gives them this answer:

You can have joy in every situation and circumstance by looking to Jesus, the assurance of God’s love for you.

2 Corinthians 1:20 tell us this:

[20] For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (ESV)

And, this is the exact message that Jesus gives John’s disciples to restore them to a place of joy.

Jesus tells them that, YES!, He is the Messiah, the Anointed One, God’s sent Savior.

He tells them that all they have to do is look at His actions and listen to His words because they match the exact description of the Savior that God has been talking about and promising for thousands of years.

Jesus lists off His qualifications.

He has restored sight to the blind.

He has restored the ability to walk to those that have been crippled and paralyzed.

He has restored health and wellness to the terminally sick.

He has raised people from the dead.

He has brought hope to the hopeless.

He has brought peace to the restless.

And, He has brought joy to the despairing.

All of this work of Jesus matches the promises of God.

One of those promises is found in the words of the prophet Isaiah who describes the coming Savior.

In verses 35:4–6, Isaiah tells us this:

[4] Say to those who have an anxious heart,

“Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

He will come and save you.”

[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

[6] then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute sing for joy…(ESV)                                                           

We often confuse joy with the absence of problems in our life.  

However, we hear James, the brother of Jesus, in his Epistle say this:

[2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2–4, ESV)

The Apostle Paul writes the following words from a prison cell, where he too was being held captive for preaching the Good News of sin and salvation.

To the church in Thessalonica, he writes:

[16] Rejoice always, [17] pray without ceasing, [18] give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, ESV)

Joy does not come from the absence of problems in our life.  

Romans 8:31–39 reminds us of this truth.

[31] What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?…

[35] Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?…

[37] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. [38] For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, [39] nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (ESV)

Karl Barth, another early twentieth-century preacher, this time from the Swiss Reformed tradition said, “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.”

Joy comes from having faith and being thankful that God loves you and has made a way for you to find yourself in the comfort of His arms—even if you are experiencing difficulties right now.  

Joy comes from daily trusting that you have a Savior, Jesus, come to you and die for you and rise from the grave for you, so that you too can be dead to Sin alive to God.

“God’s Word is a rock, not because it makes everything easy, but because it keeps your feet out of sinking sand amid difficult situations and unmet expectations.

Even in the middle of difficult situations, unmet expectations, and limited perception, Jesus is worthy of our trust. Telling others about Him won’t be easy, but it is a calling worth giving our lives to. We fight doubt in this world and fight fear of this world with faith in the promised Messiah.”

Wherever you are right now, whatever you are experiencing, I leave you with a few other words, also written by the Apostle Paul from his own place of shame, hunger, physical torment, and emotional struggle, while being imprisoned for doing the work of God in the world.

Paul said this to the church gathered in the city of Philippi and he says it to you as well:

[4] Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. [5] Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4–7, ESV)

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

This is the Joy of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

December 21, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Keep Calm and Carry On

Matthew 3.1-12

In September 1939, the British government distributed a poster that said, “Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution, Will Bring Us Victory.”  Soon another poster was printed and distributed. “Freedom Is in Peril; Defend It with All Your Might.” 

During World War II, these two posters showed up all over England—on railroad platforms and in pubs, in stores and in restaurants. The government created a third poster in the series but it never saw the light of day. British officials held it in reserve for an extreme crisis, like a German invasion of Britain. More than 2.5 million copies of this third poster were printed, yet the public never saw it until 2001. That’s when a bookstore owner in northeast England discovered one in a box of old books. What did that poster say? “Keep Calm and Carry On.” 

“Keep Calm and Carry On” became so popular that the bookstore began putting it on items like coffee mugs, postcards, and T-shirts. The rest, as they say, is history. 

Management guru Jim Collins studied leadership in turbulent times. He looked at more than twenty thousand companies, sifting through data in search of an answer to this question: in an extreme crisis, why do some leaders make it while others don’t? Collins concluded that successful leaders in a crisis aren’t more creative, more visionary, more ambitious, or more risk-taking. What sets them apart? They’re more self-controlled. They keep calm and carry on.

One of the major messages of Advent and Christmas is the message of peace.  

Another way to understand that is to say that one of the major messages of Advent and Christmas is the message to “Keep Calm and Carry On.”

The experience of peace can be elusive. 

The experience of peace can be here one second and gone the next.

And, for some of us, we may believe that experiencing peace is an impossibility.

On this Second Sunday of Advent, I want to let you know that experiencing peace is possible. 

God does not desire for you to live in a constant state of restlessness, anxiety, and worry.  

So, let’s hear more about that by following our Biblical text for this morning.

Matthew 3:1–12 tells us this:

[1] In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, [2] “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [3] For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’”

[4] Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. [5] Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, [6] and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

[7] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. [9] And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. [10] Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

[11] “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. [12] His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (ESV)

The Bible tells us that it God’s will that every man, woman, and child would be able to live at peace.  

The peace that God desires for you to have is the peace that comes from finding rest for your heart, mind, and soul, by knowing and believing that in Jesus’ coming to you, living for you, dying on the cross for you, and rising from the grave for you, you are forgiven of your sin and reconciled to your Creator.

You can rest today because trusting in Christ gives you every last thing you need to be ready to meet God.  

Because of Jesus, God does not require anything else from you.  

Through Jesus, all of the work of has been finished for you!

The heart of God that wants nothing more than for you to live at peace with Him is spoken of by both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter in their letters to the early Christian Church.

2 Peter 3:8–9 says this:

[8] But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. [9] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (ESV)

And, 1 Timothy 2:1–6 says this:

[1] First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3] This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, [4] who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [5] For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. (ESV)

In this morning’s Biblical text, chosen for us by the lectionary for this 2nd Sunday of Advent, the Sunday that celebrates the Peace that comes with Jesus on Christmas, we are given what we need to have peace with God today.

In this piece of history that describes the ministry of John the Baptist,  John the Baptist tells us where peace comes from and how peace comes into our lives.

First, John the Baptist says that peace comes from being prepared to meet God and His Kingdom.

God’s eternal Kingdom of Heaven is described like this:

[1] …I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

[5] And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” [6] And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. [7] The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:1–7, ESV)

There is peace in God’s Kingdom because, as we are told in this text from Revelation, there will be no more reasons for tears, no more reasons for mourning loss, no more reasons for pain and suffering, and no more death.

There is peace in God’s Kingdom because in God’s Kingdom all wrongs have finally been righted. 

There is peace in God’s Kingdom because life has been restored back to what God originally intended it to be when He breathed life into Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden.

Second, John the Baptist says that peace comes from repentance and confession.

Confession is to say, “I have been doing the wrong thing.”

Repentance is to say, “I will turn around and do the right thing.”

In the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program, we confess our problem every time we open our mouth.  Any time you want to speak at an AA meeting, you have to begin with saying, “Hi, my name is Fred and I am an alcoholic.”  

This is statement of both confession and repentance.  By introducing ourselves this way, we are saying, “I recognize my extreme crisis.  I have a severe and life-threatening problem with alcohol and I am here to actively do what I can, with God’s empowering and leading help, to change this behavior.”

There is something freeing about admitting your faults and knowing that those that you are admitting your faults to will not judge you or expel you, but will rush to your side 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to encourage you, lift you up, support you, and correct you when needed.

The church is the same. It is the local chapter of a universal community. Call it Sinners Anonymous. Each week I stand up and say, “Hi, I’m Fred. I’m a sinner. I need help. And only a higher power can give me the help I need—though I admit I also need all of you to help me on the way.” 

As you well know, Christians know the name of that higher power. It’s Jesus. He is the help we need. He is where we’re going.  He is the way to where we’re going. His people, sisters and brothers in Christ, are fellow sinners on the way. They are Jesus’s uncountable hands and feet and eyes and ears, his friends guiding your steps along the path, one by one. When you fall, and you will, you can’t get up alone. He will pick you up with the help of those in this place. This is the Christian life. It is a fragile and vulnerable thing, but beautiful and peaceful for just that reason.

When our eyes are opened and we see the ways that we have been disobedient to God and we respond by confessing that Sin to Him, we find peace because we have the good news that He will always forgive us for the sin we confess (and even the sin we don’t! Praise the Lord!) and He will restore us into a right and eternal relationship with Himself.

Third, John the Baptist says that peace comes from baptism.

In his letter to the Christians gathered in the city of Rome, the Apostle Paul describes baptism this way:

[3] Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

[5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:3–5, ESV)

And, the author of Hebrews adds this to the baptism discussion:

[22] let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. [23] Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. (Hebrews 10:22–23, ESV)

Baptism let’s us experience peace because the Word of God mixed with the water does what it promises to do—wash us and cleanse us from the dirt and filth of our Sin that keeps us away from God our Father in Heaven.

Fourth, John the Baptism says that peace comes from the Holy Spirit.

Again, the Apostle Paul helps us out here in his letter to the Roman Christians when he says:

[1] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1–5, ESV)

And,

[11] In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, [12] so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. [13] In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:11–14, ESV)

Peace comes from the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is God living in us.  With the Holy Spirit, we have God with us all of the time and everywhere.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, the piece of God that He puts in us, to lead us and guide us and help us and empower us and correct us,  so that we are continually being renewed in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

The professional world has a slogan that goes like this:

“It’s not who you are.  It’s who you know.”

What that phrase is pointing out is that in order to get ahead in life, your qualifications often don’t matter.  You will get the job or position you are applying for only if you know the right people with the right names, the right titles, and the right money.

The fancy word for this unfair treatment is nepotism.

This is one of the sins that John the Baptist was confronting in our text this morning.

As John was preaching about God’s grace, mercy, and love coming to forgive and restore through His Savior, Jesus, the Jewish crowd was fighting back saying that they didn’t need Jesus because they were descendants of Abraham who was the Father of God’s people (see Genesis 12).

The Jews who were hearing John’s message of good news took offense to the idea that they were sinners in need of a Savior.

The Jews on the shore of the Jordan river that day believed they would get ahead in life, that is ahead in eternal life because of who they knew. 

However, peace with God doesn’t come from who you know—Peace with God doesn’t come from your past; Peace with God doesn’t come for the specific denomination listed on your church’s sign; Peace with God doesn’t come from the people you know; Peace with God doesn’t come from your family name; Peace with God doesn’t come from your grandfather’s spirituality and commitment to the church; Peace with God doesn’t come from your mother’s charitable giving and lifetime of service to a religious organization.

No, peace with God comes from who you are.  And, through faith in Christ, you are fully united with Jesus and everything Jesus every did, said, and thought, becomes yours when God looks at you from His throne.

Only when you are covered in the life and blood of Jesus can you rest in the assurance that God will accept you and welcome you into His enteral Kingdom.

Guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix once said, 

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

This morning, you are facing an extreme crisis.  Your freedom is in peril.  Because of sin, you are heading toward death and eternal suffering.  

As our Biblical text tells us this morning, it is not your courage, your cheerfulness, your resolution, or your families’ tradition and history that will bring you victory over this separation from God.  It is only God’s coming to you in the person of Jesus Christ and dying on the cross in Jesus Christ, and rising from the grave in Jesus Christ, that will make you into one who conquers Sin and Death. 

This morning, the power of love has overcome the love of power.  

The power of God’s love for you has over your love of worldly power.

Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.  Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.  This is the promise and guarantee that you are at peace with God today, tomorrow, and forever.

So, when life gets chaotic, take a deep breath and Keep Calm and Carry On because you have been washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus Christ your Lord (1 Corinthians 6.11).

This week, whatever your lot, God has taught you to say, “It is well with my soul!”

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

This is the Peace of God of you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

December 7, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

The Reason For the Season

Luke 23.27-43

THE season is here.

Clocks are set back.

The temperatures are around the point where water freezes.

Snow flurries have already fallen

Gloves, coats and hats are the dress code.

Hot chocolate sales are up.

Egg nog is back in stock at the supermarket.

The Hallmark Chanel is operating in all of its glory.

Mariah Carey is on the radio.

And, Mariah Carey is on the radio.

And, Mariah Carey is on the radio.

The season that I am, of course, talking about is the Christmas season.

Next Sunday, when we are back in this sanctuary, we will be celebrating the first official day of the Advent and Christmas season.

Some of you have all of your decorations prepped and ready to go up the day after Thanksgiving.

However, there are also many of you that have bi-passed Thanksgiving, tossed the turkey and the cranberry sauce aside, and have been living in the light of the tiny colored bulbs of your Christmas tree since November 1st.  

Whether you are preparing now to set up those Christmas decorations as soon as the Thanksgiving left overs are put away or you are of the kind that forsakes the calendar and lives lawlessly by setting up your Christmas decorations weeks before the turkey is served, what this planning and excitement show us is that almost everyone lives in anticipation of the Christmas season.

And, we live with this anticipation because we all see something special about this season.  We all enter this time of the year with a specific reason or set of reasons for the celebration that this season brings.

So, I ask you, what is the reason for the season for you?

Do you see the reason for the season being family gatherings?

Do you see the reason for the season being gift giving and gift receiving?

Do you see the reason for the season being the smiles on the faces of your kids as they tear the wrapping paper off of their presents?

Do you see the reason for the season being a few restful days off of work?

Do you see the reason for the season as being a time to go out to catch up with your friends who are home from school on winter break?

Do you see the reason for the season being an opportunity to flee to the cold whether for a tropical vacation?

When you think about this time of year, what is the reason for the season for you?

This morning, to define the reason for the Christmas season, we are going to look at what probably seems like a strange Biblical text to use in order to do so. It may seem strange to you because instead of talking about happy and fun things like babies and animals and presents, our Biblical text that answers the question, “What is the reason for the season?,” talks about things like suffering and death.

Our Biblical text for his morning, picked for us by the lectionary brings us to Luke 23.27-43.  It is in this graphic scene from Jesus’ life that we are set up and led into the right mindset for the Christmas season.

Let’s hear from Luke 23.27-43 together now.

The text tells us this:

[27] And there followed [Jesus] a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. [28] But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. [29] For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ [30] Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ [31] For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

[32] Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. [33] And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [34] And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. [35] And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” [36] The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine [37] and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” [38] There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

[39] One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” [40] But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? [41] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” [42] And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” [43] And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (ESV)

Now, after hearing this text, this text about Jesus’ death on the cross, you may be thinking, “Pastor Fred, you must have read the wrong verses, those verses are for Good Friday and Easter.”

If you are thinking that, you aren’t alone.  When I opened up the lectionary and then opened my Bible to these verses this week, I thought the same thing.

But, as I asked the question, why are these verses chosen for the week before we officially begin celebrating Advent and Christmas, God, through the moving of His Holy Spirit, helped me understand why these verses are important in defining the reason for the Christmas season.

Although it is historically true that these verses tell us what happened on Good Friday and what led into the first Easter three days later, we have to remember that the Good Friday and Easter events, which are the reason we gather and celebrate every Sunday, were and are the driving force behind the Christmas season.

Yes, the Christmas season celebrates that a baby was born.

But, the Christmas season also celebrates that the baby, named Jesus, called “God with us” and “the One who would save men and women from their sin,” was born with the intention and goal of dying on the cross around 30 years later in order to provide what was needed to connect men and women back to God, the Father in Heaven.

Many of us are familiar with the Toys For Tots organization.  We see them out and about in the months and weeks leading up to Christmas collecting donations of toys that will eventually be distributed to families in need.

The Toys for Tots website states: “The mission of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November, and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted.” 

That being the case, it was surprising when the charity rejected a donation of 4,000 new, unwrapped toys heading into the 2006 Christmas season.

What was the reason for this rejection? The toys in question were battery-operated, talking representations of Jesus Christ. 

According to the website of the dolls’ manufacturer, One2Believe, the button-activated, bearded Talking Jesus doll is dressed in hand-sewn cloth outfits and sandals. It also recites Scripture verses, such as, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Bill Grein, vice president of the Toys for Tots program, said the charity chose to reject the dolls for several reasons. First, as a government entity, the Marines “don’t profess one religion over another,” Grein said. “We can’t take a chance on sending a Talking Jesus doll to a Jewish family or a Muslim family.”

He also added that, “Kids want a gift for the holiday season that is fun.”

Thankfully, this particular Christmas story does have a happy ending. About a week after his initial decision to reject the toys, Mr. Grein sent the following e-mail to their manufacturer: “Having reconsidered your kind offer of several thousand dolls last week, the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation would like to receive them. We believe that with some effort we will be able to find homes for them all.”

Even though I find it ironic that Toys For Tots’ mission statement uses the word Christmas and then rejects Christ, I share this story not to point a finger at Toys For Tots initial decision to reject talking Jesus dolls (although the description of them seems a bit weird and creepy, even to me, a Christian pastor).

I share this story because like Toys For Tots, like many of us define the reason for the Christmas season wrong.

Toys For Tots defined the reason for the Christmas season as “Fun.”

In our commercialization of the Christmas season, we try to make the reason for the season pure fun by focusing on a jolly old man who laughs while surrounded by dancing and singing elves who hand out candy and presents to all the good little girls and boys.

Although the reason for the Christmas season is defined throughout the week’s of Advent leading up to Christmas morning as love, joy, hope, and peace, that love, joy, hope and peace is brought into the world and into your life through the least fun event possible — death through crucifixion.

One of the criminals hanging next to Jesus on his own cross rejected Jesus because what was happening in that moment wasn’t fun.

However, the other criminal knew the truth of God’s grace and mercy in that horrendous moment of suffering and death — sin creates a mess that is cleaned up by an equally appropriate mess.  Sin brings death into the lives of each one of us and can only be overcome and defeated by the death of a perfect substitutionary sacrifice. 

The reason for the Christmas season is God’s love for you driving Him with the single-minded purpose of bringing you to a state of hope, joy, and peace, by providing you with the Savior you need to forgive you of your sin and re-connect you back to God your Father in Heaven today and forever.

When God steps into your life in the person of Jesus Christ, born into the world on Christmas morning, He is saying to you the exact thing that Jesus said to the criminal who had faith in Him on Good Friday — He is saying to you, “Today, you will be with me in paradise!” He is saying, “I am hanging here and being punished and condemned for sin, not my sin, but the sin of others, so that through my sacrifice, their debt before God can be paid completely off and they can be forgiven and connected back to God in Heaven.” 

And, though fulfilling the promise of providing a Savior to rescue you from the mess of this life and that sin causes, God is giving you the assurance that He truly loves you, the assurance of the forgiveness of sin that instills hope for a future in Heaven, the assurance of having peace with God today and forever, and all of those Christmas gifts of love, hope, and peace, give the you the final gift of joy, knowing that everything you ever need, God has provided for you through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, His Son.

In their typical 80’s glam metal style, the Christian band, Stryper, sang these lyrics over double bass drumming and squealing guitars:

You, your life can be a holiday

Everyday when He is with you.

Hey, let’s get back to what it’s all about.

Shout it out. Christ is the reason.

We all know it’s better to give that receive

His gift is for those who believe.

You got it if you want it, just believe.

He is the reason for the season.

He is the reason for today.

He is the reason for the season.

Celebrate.

Another Christian musician from that same 1980s era said this:

This is an exciting time to be a Christian! There is more and more opposition to real Christianity which means that there will be more and more opportunity to shine for Christ. The darker the room, the brighter the light will shine. (Michael Bloodgood)

And, that thought comes from the Biblical statement made by the disciple John when was discussing Jesus’ coming into the world by saying:

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

God’s ultimate goodness is revealed in Jesus nailed to a cross. 

Jesus allows His body to be beaten, stripped, whipped, and pinned to wood to forgive every sin of every person who ever lived. 

Jesus sees Mary and John at the cross to comfort Him and instead He comforts them. Jesus promises paradise to a dying thief. With His final breath, Jesus prays for forgiveness—for the very people who crucified Him. What does the cross tell us? God is good—very good.

Put the scenes together: Judgment is coming. God is forgiving. Paradise is offered. But the only ones who receive it are the humble who admit their sins and confess that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to atone for their sins and was raised from the grave three days later. 

Friends, this morning be humble enough to confess your sins and turn away from them, calling on the name of the Lord.  God promises he will forgive you of your sin and robe you in his righteousness. And today paradise will be your home.

This morning and this season, follow Jesus from the manger in which he was born all the way to the cross on which he died.

Follow him, believe in his death on the cross for you, have faith, fear God, and hear him say to you, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do…Today, you will be with me in Paradise…God’s eternal Kingdom of Heaven.”

This is the Word of God for you today.

The is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

November 23, 2025.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Peace: God’s Christmas Gift to You

Luke 3.1-14

Can you put a price on peace?

Peace sells, peace sells

Peace sells, but who’s buying?

In 1986, Heavy Metal legends, Megadeth, growled these lyrics in their chart dominating hit that monopolized airtime on MTV.

In their aggressive poetry set to face-melting riffs, Megadeth was alluding to the fact that the idea of peace is popular, but the actual seeking out and making of peace isn’t as attractive as philosophically talking about it.

For example, how many Miss America contestants contestants answered, “World Peace,” when asked the question, “What is one thing you hope for in your lifetime?”

Or, John Lennon’s 1969 musical exhortation for everyone to “Give Peace a Chance,” and two years later in 1971, asking the world to join him to,

Imagine all the people

Livin’ life in peace

Imagine no possessions

I wonder if you can

No need for greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

And, then, admitting,

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Many people throw the word peace around but very few commit to practice what they preach.

However, this ideological using of the word peace is not new to 20th and 21st Century America.

Thousands of years ago, God the Father in Heaven, used his prophet Jeremiah to confront and convict leaders with misusing the idea of peace to give false hope to the people whom they served.

In Jeremiah 6.14, the prophet, through God’s inspiration, says this:

[14] They have healed the wound of my people lightly,

saying, ‘Peace, peace,’

when there is no peace. (Jeremiah 6:14, ESV)

Again, people like the idea of peace, but not the path that leads to having peace on earth.

Peace calls for action, not just talk.

The dictionary defines Peace as freedom from disturbance or tranquility.  The secondary definition of Peace is a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.

This morning, if you could choose one place in your life to have peace, what place would you choose?  Where would you choose to eliminate tension and conflict?

Would you choose to have peace in your home—with your spouse, children, and extended family?

Would you choose to have peace in your place of employment—with your co-workers, clients, and boss?

Would you choose to have piece in your friend group?

Or, maybe, you would choose to have peace in church—with God and with other parishioners?

During the Advent season, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, we annually explore the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. 

This morning, we will focus on the peace we have while waiting for Jesus’ coming to us and through Jesus’ coming to us.

With that being said, let’s hear from the lectionary text chosen for this Second Sunday in Advent.

Luke 3.1-14 says this:

[1] In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, [2] during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. [3] And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. [4] As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

[5] Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall become straight,

and the rough places shall become level ways,

[6] and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

[7] He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [8] Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. [9] Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

[10] And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” [11] And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” [12] Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” [13] And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” [14] Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.” (ESV)

In this morning’s Biblical text from the Gospel of Luke, or Luke the physician’s biography of Jesus, we encounter a man named John who was out in the desert baptizing people that came from the surrounding towns to hear his message and who believed in his message.

As a reference point, John, also known as John the Baptist, was Jesus’ cousin.

John’s message went like this, “Listen to and follow God the Father in Heaven. Be baptized while repenting of your sin and God will forgive your sin.”

However, as mentioned in the text, the baptisms that John performed were only effective to bring peace between God and man because they were fulfilling the promises that God made earlier in history and recorded in Scripture.  These promises that God the Father in Heaven made to humanity make it clear that baptism, repentance, and forgiveness were made possible through the Savior’s, Jesus’, coming to us and by His living perfectly according to all of God’s commands, dying on the cross as the innocent lamb without blemish, and defeating the power of sin and death through His resurrection from the dead.

As today’s Biblical text from Luke chapter 3 tells you,

Jesus comes to you and brings peace.

The metaphor used to illustrate this is the evening out of creation or the elimination of difficult travel in life. For example, the crooked road will be made straight, the valleys will be lifted up to ground level, and the mountains will be brought down to ground level.  

Jesus comes to you and brings you peace with God.

Jesus comes to you and brings you peace on earth and in Heaven.

The metaphor used to illustrate this point is the cutting down and burning of all the trees that don’t grow properly and produce bad fruit.  That is, God will remove all of the false teachers who give false hope wth their false teaching.  This false hope comes from telling people that their good works will earn them God’s favor and the reward of eternal life in Heaven.

Jesus comes to you and brings you peace with God through offering you the opportunity to repent of your sin, be forgiven of your sin, and see the salvation of God.

Why is there peace with God through repentance?

Well, another word for repentance is honesty.

So, to repent is to be honest with God about your Sin.

Honesty always brings peace to our lives because we stop holding in the lies, the secrets, and the misinformation.  We stop worrying about being caught, being found out, being exposed, and covering our tracks with more lies. Instead, through repentance, we have a chance to move forward with the freedom.

To repent is to be honest with God about doing your own thing.

To repent is to be honest with God about your denying of His existence in you daily routine.

To repent is to be honest with God about your active disobedience to His rules for life and love.

To repent is to be honest with God about your inactive disobedience to His rules for life and love.

Overall, to repent is to be honest with God and admit that because of the internal brokenness of your thoughts, and the external brokenness of your words and actions, life has been hard, that there have been struggles for you along way, that you haven’t always done the right thing, and that you know you need God’s forgiveness, love, and strength to carry on and choose the good part of every hour moving forward.

And, here is the Good News for you today:

Your repentance is always met with grace from God.

Following Megadeth’s question filled lyrics, Advent and Christmas offer the answers the band is seeking.

Here goes:

God put a price on peace.

And, that price was the life of His One and Only Son Jesus Christ.

Eternal peace with God has been bought for you by God Himself in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

John 3:16–21 tells us about the price of peace with God.

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19] And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [20] For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. [21] But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (ESV)

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 tells you that Jesus bought peace with God for you by paying the price for your peace with God with his own life.

[19] … You are not your own, [20] for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (ESV)

Our Biblical text from this morning doesn’t end with the good news that when Jesus comes to us, he brings peace with God.

Our Biblical text for this morning goes on to let us know that God expects us to be peace makers in this world to show that true and lasting peace is possible.

So, now that we have peace with God through Jesus’ death on the cross, how do we live with peace on a day to day basis?

Well, our Biblical text from Luke’s biography of Jesus tells us how we will experience peace in this world.

Looking at verses 10-14, we hear this:

[10] And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” [11] And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” [12] Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” [13] And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” [14] Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

After attaining peace with God through faith in Jesus, according to Jesus’ words, daily peace comes from sharing, caring, honesty, truth, and contentment.

Here, Jesus is telling you that in order to experience peace everyday, prayerfully ask God to work in and through you by the Holy Spirit to bear fruit.

You may be saying, “Pastor Fred, does Jesus mean that I am supposed to give out apples and bananas?  What does it mean to bear fruit?”

Well, elsewhere in the Bible’s Scriptures, specifically in Galatians 5.22, we hear the apostle Paul encourage the Christians in the city of Galatia by defining what God’s Spirit will produce in the life of those who have faith in Jesus.

Paul says:

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. [24] And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

[25] If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. [26] Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22–26, ESV)

These words of Paul follow exactly what Jesus is commanding in verses 10-14 of this morning’s Biblical text.  Once you find yourself believing in Jesus, you find yourself being a new creation with new hope, new peace, new love, and new joy.  And, all of that comes from being empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit which strengthens you to see the world with the eyes and mind of Christ.

So, the new you has a new desire to become a peacemaker.  

Now, due to the ongoing battle with the sinful flesh, you won’t always get this right, but the knowledge of what is right will drive you to prayer to do what’s right and to repentance when you do what is wrong.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31, the apostle Paul, again, gives similar encouragement when he says to you:

[31] So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (ESV)

The Christmas season can easily turn into a time to dwell on perishable gifts. Children are especially prone to the unceasing wave of advertisements that feature the latest toys and games. Any parent can testify to the noticeable uptick in the phrase “I want that!” from toddlers and young children during the Christmas season. Yet adults, too, can buy into the temptations of materialism that come during the Christmas season. In doing so, we forget that “our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). Christmas reorients our focus on the mission of Jesus to make all things new by his incarnation. It reminds us that this world will one day give way to the glorious inheritance that awaits all those who believed in Jesus—the eternal life he secured by being born in the manger. 

When Jesus took on flesh, God declared that the creation he had made would be made new. The world he created—indeed, the bodies of believers—would not be obliterated but remade, refashioned in the new heavens and the new earth. 

Christmas, therefore, brings with it an eschatological—an end-time—hope for the world. The fear of death no longer holds power, nor can it enslave those who belong to Christ. Why? Because Christ has come. He was born in a manger for us. He lived for us. He died for us. He paid the eternal price of God’s wrath for us. He came so that we might live forever. This, however, he could not do unless he became like us in every way. 

Not only do we announce in this season the coming of the Savior, but we also proclaim a day when sin will be no more, when death will have no power, when Satan will forever be silent, and when all tears will be wiped away. Our Christmas carols ring with the message of the birth of the Son of God who dwelt among his people in the flesh, who radiated grace and light, and who secured through his ministry the city of heaven. As we celebrate Christmas, meditate on this particular aspect of why Jesus came. He came so that we might inherit the new Jerusalem, a new earth, where God will dwell with his people forever and ever. He came as the fulfillment of all God’s promises.

The Huntington Station poet, Walt Whitman, said, “Peace is always beautiful.”

Peace with God, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, is beautiful because it gives us the hope of peace that comes from knowing that God is no longer against us but for us every moment of everyday.  And, one day there will be complete peace when Jesus comes to us again to completely and fully eliminate sin and death from our experience ensuring that there will never again be pain, suffering, or tears.

Today, rest in the peace you have with God through Jesus’ coming to you.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

December 8, 2024. Second Sunday in Advent.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, 

Our hearts are constantly storm-tossed by our varied circumstances. When life is going well, we are elated and feel infinitely strong. When we face problems and frightening situations, we are cast down and feel sure that we will drown. Instead of thankfulness and peace, our hearts are often ruled by forgetfulness and fear. We imagine ourselves to be abandoned because of our sin and cut off. We feel isolated from one another as well as from you. We know that you have overcome this world, but our peace is fleeting and is built upon flimsy things, and we are not comforted by your strength and love. Father, forgive us. 

Jesus, thank you for your perfect peace in all life’s deepest trials. You were able to rest in the midst of the storm, because you knew that you were the Father’s priceless treasure, whom he would not allow to see destruction. Even when the Father’s wrath was poured out upon you for our sake, you rested in his sure promises and trusted in him. Thank you that this peace is now given to us as a free gift. Because of you, we are the Father’s priceless treasure, his beloved children, whom he will never give up. 

Holy Spirit, quiet our unruly hearts. Banish our fear and sadness with your truth. Give us the peace that we so often lack by reminding us of the rich word of Christ. Teach us to find solid hope in Christ’s blood, which is shed for us. Thank you that even when nothing feels well with us, all is well with you—the gospel is true in spite of our feelings. Help us to celebrate this when our hearts are cold, our will is weak, and you do not remove our fear as we wish you would. May we encourage one another joyfully and boldly with this great news. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Benediction:

Go in peace today.  Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, you have peace with God and are strengthened to daily live in peace with man and woman.

Posted on by Fred Scragg 5

Hope: God’s Christmas Gift to You

Luke 21.25-36

This time of year, the Advent and Christmas season, we are often brought into Charles Dickens’ classic piece of literature, A Christmas Carol.  

Whether it is a direct read of his text or a visual representation of his work with Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, or comedian Jim Carrey, playing the famed characters of Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley, and nephew Fred, we are left encouraged at the end of the story by changed hearts and reconciliation summed up by these words of Dickens:

“It’s always something, to know you’ve done the most you could. But don’t leave off hoping, or it’s of no use doing anything. Hope, hope to the last.”

In our American culture, we have many cliches about hope.

Some of those sayings go like this:

“Where there’s life, there’s hope.”

“Every cloud has a silver lining.”

“Hope springs eternal!”

“Never give up hope!”

Or, ”I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” 

Hope has also been the theme of many hit songs.

For example,

Journey’s 1981, Don’t Stop Believin’.

The Beatles’ 1969, Here Comes the Sun.

Tom Petty’s 1989, I Won’t Back Down.

Bill Withers’ 1972, Lean on Me.

As well as, Louis Armstrong’s 1959, What a Beautiful World.

And, hope has been a talking and writing point for theologians, politicians, authors, and philosophers.

Pastor and Civil activist Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

Current best selling fantasy author Sarah J. Maas said, “We need hope, or else we cannot endure.”

However, I believe Ms. Mass borrowed that idea and reworked a quote from the prolific 19th Century Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky who famously said, “To live without hope is to cease to live.”

The dictionary defines Hope as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

During the Advent season, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas, we annually explore the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. 

This morning, we will focus on the hope we have while waiting for Jesus’ coming to us.

With that being said, let’s hear from the lectionary text chosen for this first Sunday in Advent.

Luke 21:25–36 records these sayings of Jesus:

[25] “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, [26] people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [27] And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. [28] Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

[29] And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. [30] As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. [31] So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. [32] Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. [33] Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

[34] “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. [35] For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. [36] But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (ESV)

Here, the physician and biographer, Luke, writes down what ended up being the final words that Jesus spoke at the temple before his crucifixion.  

And, Jesus’ words on that day were words that instilled hope in all who heard and believed him.

Jesus’ words point out that the world will seem to be falling apart, almost everyday, but God is still in control and God is still fulfilling His promise to the world and to you—a promise for eternal safety and security though the rescue of salvation.

When you turn on the news and see images of floods devastating North Carolina, rockets flying between Russia and the Ukraine, and political riots and protests across the globe, you are given a very clear picture that something is not right out there.  However, as many of those disturbing images and words tell us, the actions and consequences driving those sad realities are propelled by the human race and therefore there is also something not right inside the human being.

Psalm 51:5 tells us what is wrong on the inside of the human being when the author, King David admits,

[5] Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me. (ESV)

And, as Paul the apostle writes in his letter to the Christians in the city of Rome,

[12] Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…(Romans 5:12, ESV)

And,

[18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:18–21, ESV)

Because of sin, both the human being and the created order are corrupted and falling apart and falling away from God.

The good news we have, despite the brokenness of humanity and creation that followed the Fall in the Garden of Eden, is that God still promises us that one day He would fix and restore all things through a Savior who would right every wrong, and reconcile every wreck to God.

That is the hope Jesus gives us in today’s Biblical text.  Jesus is pointing to the end of the world as we know and tells us that we will be fine if we stand strong with faith in him as the One who was always Faithful to God for us.  

In these three pericopes, or passages, Jesus tells us that there are three reasons to have hope in Him and God the Father today.

First, there is hope in Jesus’ coming to us because his presences signals redemption is drawing near.

Ephesians 1:7:

[7] In [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (ESV)

Second, there is hope in Jesus’ coming to us because his presence with us means His Word is true.

2 Corinthians 1:20:

[20] For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus]. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. (ESV)

And, third, there is hope in Jesus’ coming to us because his presence with us means we will have strength to stand before the Son of Man — meaning God — at the gates of Heaven.

Isaiah 54:10:

[10] For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

says the LORD, who has compassion on you. (ESV)

Through Jesus’ perfectly lived life, when measured against God’s commands for life and love, Jesus death on the cross to forgive you of the falling away and falling apart that happens when you sinfully and selfishly love yourself more than God and others, and Jesus resurrection from the dead to defeat the power of sin and death that separates you from God forever, you are able to stand strong, even as the world falls apart around you, because you are safe and secure today, tomorrow, and forever in God’s loving arms.

One of my favorite theologians of this era is Albert Mohlher Jr. Mohler is the current President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  This week he wrote about the hope of Christmas, meaning the hope of Jesus coming to us in response to John 1.4-5 which says:

[4] In him was life, and the life was the light of men. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:4–5, ESV)

Mohler’s following commentary is this:

The need of this Light points to the harrowing reality of the darkness. All humanity lives under the black shadow of sin and shame. The darkness which blanketed the world inhibited everyone from seeing and knowing God. Darkness befell the creation all the way back in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve, through a display of high treason, disobeyed God and subsequently plunged the creation and the cosmos under the shadow of sin. God, however, promised a day of redemption. Indeed, in Genesis 3, God cursed the serpent, pronouncing, “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Gen. 3:15). From that day forward, God continually spoke of a day when the curse would be reversed, when the light would break through the darkness, when redemption would rescue people from their sin. 

That is what happened at Jesus’s birth. The birth of Christ marked the culmination of all God’s promises. God incarnate had come as “the true light that gives light to everyone” (John 1:9). This marks the glory of Christmas.

Speaking about hope being an integral part of the human condition’s ability to focus and carry on day to day comes from 20th Century South African Anglican Bishop who spent his days an anti-apartheid and human rights activist.  Tutu said:

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

The sin of humanity has done what it has always done best — turned away from the glory of God to stare intently and intensely in the mirror admiring the glory of the self.

We live in a time where materialism has replaced the Messiah and Santa has replaced the Savior.

We, therefore, live in a time where hope is both misplaced and lost altogether for many.  Maybe even you. 

This Advent season, on this Sunday of Hope, live with a changed heart, being reconciled to God through His gift of Jesus.

And, like a child who stays awake on Christmas Eve because of the overwhelming excitement of hope they have for presents on Christmas Morning, I encourage you, with Jesus’ words to, “Stay awake at all times, praying” being overwhelmed by the joy of Jesus’ coming to you so that you won’t be faithless in fear, and won’t be distracted by debauchery.  But, instead, be strengthened by God to stand strong through the joys and trials of life always prepared to give an answer for the hope that you have — Jesus your Savior who has come on Christmas and who is coming again at the final trumpet to lead us into our eternal home of Heaven.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

December 1, 2024.

Prayer:

Almighty God,

You alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant us grace to love what You command and desire what You promise; that, among the quick and many changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; 

Give us grace to cast away the words of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which Your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when He shall come again in His glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to life immoral;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Benediction:

Go, in peace today.  Live in the hope that is yours when Jesus comes to you.  You are redeemed from sin.  God’s promises always come true in your life.  And, you will stand strong before God until the end and in the end.